Yu Na

After Worlds was over, I went back and looked at Michelle on Youtube. Yu Na incorporates her choreography and arm movements in a way that is reminiscent of Michelle in her earlier years. However, the way Michelle moved to the music is still in a class by itself. Yu Na's movements don't always seem finished; sometimes like she is just going through the move to get it over with. I don't sense that she is "feeling" the music in the way that Michelle did. However, Yu Na's choreography was wonderful and I applaud her for not just going from jump to jump. Her program was lovely. She is also tough like Michelle and she doesn't give up. In no way do I see Katarina Witt in Yu Na.

I agree, but this seems to be a normal discussion. I'm fairly sure (but can't verify) that Kwan drew comparisons to earlier skaters until she developed a style of her own. Same with Witt, etc. Until Yu Na develops a distinct style (if she does) then I expect these comparison threads to continue.

Last year I used to think Yuna was somewhat like Michelle and that Mao was reminiscent of Irina. It has been a while since I have watched much of Katerina so she wasn't one I was thinking about.
Like Michelle, Yuna seems a little more musical and expressive to me and like Irina, Mao seems to be more focused on her jumps and executing her elements without as much expression.
But I have changed my opinion (I do that alot . As others have said the great skaters are pretty individualistic. I would have a hard time saying who is like Sasha - maybe Caroline because of her flexibility? But they are really not very similar imo. Caroline is still so young and who knows which direction her skating will follow as it developes.
What about Oksana? Who is like her today? And what about Shizuka? She seems totally different than the other Japanese skaters and maybe she is more like Katerina than Yuna. But that is also probably not true either.
By the end of her great career Irina had become much more expressive. Mao is not really skating like anybody but Mao and I imagine she will make her competitve programs more expressive and dramatic, especially if she stays with Tat. Yuna is skating under a different scoring system than Michelle did for most of her career and that also effects the way a skater presents themselves. In general, Yuna's choreos seem much busier than Michelle's. She is doing more but is it necessarily better or even so similar? Sure the jumps are much bigger but what about the other aspects of Yuna's skating? For me Yuna is Yuna just as Miki is Miki and so forth. But I will probably change my mind about some of these thoughst as next season unfolds.